All Blacks: Laying down the blackprint

Versatile forwards like Brad Thorn make the All Black's expansive style of play possible. Photo / Getty Images

The All Blacks believe it is only a matter of time before the rest of the world catches up and strikes upon similarly effective game plans.

There is no doubt most of the leading teams will evolve and adapt over the next 12 months, but the gap between the All Blacks and everyone else could remain as large as it currently is.

That's not to say the All Blacks are unbeatable; more an acknowledgement that the game has reached a place that could hardly suit New Zealand better.

It has become, as All Black coach Graham Henry noted in Melbourne, "a game at the tackle and at the breakdown, and we obviously managed that quite well as we scored seven tries, but we can still improve."

Some of the old truisms about test football are not true any more. The game is no longer about the set-piece. A destructive scrum and faultless lineout are handy but not deadly.

The statistics highlight the changing nature of the game. In the Tri Nations last year there was an average of 19 scrums per game and 24 lineouts. In the All Blacks' opening four games this year, there was an average of 17 scrums and 18 lineouts per game.

In Melbourne, it was not until the 66th minute that the All Blacks put the ball into a scrum. Almost 75 per cent of the tries they have scored have come from broken play andclose to 50 per cent have been scored from possession won inside their own half.

Possibly the biggest change has been the success rate of recycling possession. In the first test against South Africa, the All Blacks took the ball into 118 breakdowns and emerged with it 96 per cent of the time.

In Wellington they had a 95 per cent return from 103 breakdowns. The All Blacks are not playing for territory. They are no longer holding on to the mantra of playing their rugby in the right part of the field and they don't kick the ball out.

The most important set-phase is now kick-offs. "I would say they [kick-offs] are almost on the same level [as scrums and lineouts]," says All Black lock Tom Donnelly, who is the master of that department. "It's so important that you keep the pressure on after you score."

The All Blacks have confidence in their ability to retain the ball and to run from deep. They have confidence to keep looking for space because, as their 15 tries from their opening three games testify, they will eventually create a scoring opportunity.

It may seem an easy enough blueprint to emulate and French coach Marc Lievremont says that is his plan, but how many other sides in world rugby have the same calibre of athletes and ball-players across their team?

How many locks can be as versatile as Brad Thorn and smash it up the guts and then link the play?

How many other teams have the same composure on the ball? The same ability to attack the space and then give the pass?

Assistant All Black coach Wayne Smith is certain there are plenty of teams just as capable: "We get a lot of our innovations through looking at the way the game is played [in the Super14], take the best out of it and then try to put it together as the total package.

"But I think everyone will catch up and we'll see the game evolve again ... maybe there will be a lot of work on defensive lines and chasing lines. We're in a good position, but I'm sure other teams would feel they've got the capabilities. You've just got to pick the right people to play that sort of game."

England didn't appear to have the personnel or the basic skills when they were here in June. The Irish have a gifted backline but their forwards didn't appear to have the range or fitness. The Welsh have promise and could advance strongly, as could the French whose flair and creativity are returning under Lievremont.

The Springboks are at a crossroads and need to decide whether they persist with what they know or switch to playing Stormers style rugby. The Australians are really the only side with similar potential to thrive in a game of tackles and mini-collisions. Yet even they will have to think long and hard about their tactics and selections.

Richard Brown is tough but limited - not in the same class as Kieran Read. Nathan Sharpe is a set-piece lock providing little else so far this season, while the front row that started last night are not ball-players in the same mould as Keven Mealamu and Tony Woodcock.

Tactically teams playing the All Blacks have to give thought to kicking the ball out and attacking an historically vulnerable lineout. Former Wallaby captain John Eales, speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, also thought the forwards need to take on more.

"A pick and drive game through the middle will find gaps and the required reinforcements will create more space out wide. Revision may also reveal the need for more kicking, not in a random way but in a way that challenges the All Blacks and allows the Wallabies to get in behind their wall of defence."

The lawmakers are adamant there will be no change before the World Cup and that the current interpretations have been a success.

The All Blacks have a big head start. Much of how they play is ingrained - skills learned from an early age. Then there is their physical advantage. The conditioning programs have been tailored to suit - the emphasis has been on aerobic work, which is why the All Blacks are still running hard in the final 10 minutes.

The ball has been in play an average of 37 minutes this year, compared with about 33 minutes in 2009. It was obvious at Eden Park that several of the Springbok pack, particularly Schalk Burger, were struggling with the pace. There is no room for complacency and it would be folly to believe the All Blacks are untouchable and just as daft to say they have peaked too early.

"Sides will get better as time goes on with the new interpretations of the law - that's only logical," says Henry. "We haven't got any feeling that we are ahead by a lot. We have got to keep on improving and I think we can improve and stay ahead ... if we are ahead."